For over 20 years, Elizabeth Swados has worked with youngsters of all backgrounds in musicals such as her '70s Broadway hit "Runaways." And she has collaborated with others to compose liturgical music like her '95 album "Bible Women." But one group was noticeably missing.

"I never worked with people who had the same background," she told The Jewish Week in a telephone interview. "I wanted to see what teenage middle-class Jewish girls had to say about sexuality, body image, relationships, and the influence of Jewish tradition."

That Chana Landau and a group of gay teenagers appear in the same novel would have been unthinkable to the Orthodox Brooklyn woman before she started teaching at Harvey Milk High School in Manhattan. She’s not sure her religion allows her to be in the same room as these wild street urchins, child prostitutes and largely unloved kids who have been down and out for most of their young lives. The alternative school is “as close to Sodom” as the 28- year-old thought she’d ever be.

For over 20 years, Elizabeth Swados has worked with youngsters of all backgrounds in musicals such as her '70s Broadway hit "Runaways." And she has collaborated with others to compose liturgical music like her '95 album "Bible Women." But one group was noticeably missing.
"I never worked with people who had the same background," she told The Jewish Week in a telephone interview. "I wanted to see what teenage middle-class Jewish girls had to say about sexuality, body image, relationships, and the influence of Jewish tradition."